Portugal will likely abandon its ‘golden visa’ initiative, according to Prime Minister Antonio Costa, who added that the decade-old scheme has accomplished its objective.

The golden visa programme, or the Authorisation of Residence for Investment Activity for people from non-EU countries, has received heavy criticism in Portugal for driving house prices and rents skywards. In addition, the European Commission has called for such national initiatives to come to an end.

The golden visa programme in Portugal has attracted investment of up to €6.5 billion by foreigners, predominantly from South Africa, China and Brazil, with the majority of the investment allocated to real estate. In 2022, the rules were modified to shift investments from the property market in big cities to depopulated areas.

During Lisbon's Web Summit, the prime minister said several of Portugal’s visa schemes were currently being revised, the golden visa being one of them.

"(It) probably has already fulfilled the role it had to fulfil and, at this moment, is no longer justified to keep it", Costa told reporters.

The PM added that a decision would be announced once the review has been finalised, Reuters reports.

Moreover, Costa said the country wanted to remain attractive to foreigners, and one example is the law passed this week leading to the creation of the digital nomad visa. This allows remote workers to live and work in Portugal for up to a year, providing they earn a minimum of €2,800 a month.

The European Commission has urged EU governments to abandon national schemes selling citizenship to investors, having been deemed a security risk.

In February, the UK ditched golden visas due to fears about the inflow of illicit Russian money, the Reuters report adds, just before the war in Ukraine.